Come back Lauryn Hill. We need you

I paid £35 to watch Wu-Tang Clan play for an hour last night. Cheeky but hey, what are you gonna do? Thankfully, they were top drawer. And I haven’t been able to get something the warm-up DJ said out of my mind. “Come back Lauryn Hill! We need you” he yelled, as he played Fu-Gee-La.

He is so right. Is there any female rapper who has rivalled the intellect, verve and flow of Lauryn Hill since her glory days? Alicia Keys, the artist most often cited as her protégé, is like Subway to her Nobu.

I know I’m not alone in calling The Fugees’ The Score one of the greatest cross-genre albums of all time. And The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill? What a banquet.

But what’s happened to "L Boogie"? And why has she stopped writing? Despite her silent and self-imposed exile, I've discovered she’s been living with her mother and five children in South Orange, New Jersey. She’s kind of in a relationship with Rohan Marley – son of Bob and the father of her kids – but from what I can gather they don’t live together.

Fans have been worried about her seemingly unhinged behaviour over the years. Her attack, Sinead-style, on the Roman Catholic Church was embarrassing. She appeared in 2007 looking like she’d gone potty, smeared with ghoulish, drag-queen makeup and a bright orange afro. Her lack of punctuality was allegedly to blame for the breakdown of The Fugees 2005 reunion and other people she’s collaborated with have complained publicly about her working ethic. “Please don’t be like Whitney!!” fans plead on internet forums.

But there's a glimmer of hope. She played a festival in Portugal last weekend (video below), performing in good voice and looking beautiful as ever. She’s due to play again in the States this summer, for the first time in years.

Lauryn Hill has already given us Zion, Lost Ones and Doo Wop (That Thing). But the DJ was right: we need her back.